House, Senate agree to move State of the State speech to Lima

The House and Senate agreed yesterday - with far less drama than the vote one year ago - to meet in joint session in Lima for Gov. John Kasich's State of the State speech.

Jim Siegel, The Columbus Dispatch

The House and Senate agreed yesterday — with far less drama than the vote one year ago — to meet in joint session in Lima for Gov. John Kasich’s State of the State speech.

This is the second straight year Kasich is breaking with tradition by venturing away from the Statehouse for his annual speech, which is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 19 at the Lima Veterans Memorial Civic & Convention Center.

Rep. Matt Huffman, R-Lima, called the moving of the speech to different locations a wonderful new tradition.

“The folks in Lima are very excited,” he said. Local officials “are trying to put together an entire package and day of hospitality.”

“And if you want your Kewpee coffee mug, you have to pass this resolution,” he added, referring to the famous Lima burger joint.

Last year, Kasich’s decision to move the speech to Steubenville upset some lawmakers, who were caught off-guard by the change. In the end, 14 House Republicans voted against changing the location, and it took the votes of 10 House Democrats to approve the resolution.

But this year, lawmakers were given fair warning that Kasich again planned to take his show on the road. The House voted 80-16 for the resolution to convene in Lima, and the Senate voted 24-9.

Rep. Ron Gerberry, D-Youngstown, spoke out against the move, arguing that it breaks an important legislative tradition.

“I sincerely say to each one of you, I look so forward to the State of the State coming down here every year,” he said. “It was exciting. Now, what we’ve done is take one last tradition and turn it into a political event.”

Rep. Lynn Wachtmann, R-Napoleon, said he was “eating crow,” after voting against the resolution to move the speech last year. He said he learned a lot going to Steubenville. “It was good for the Steubenville area, and it will be good for the people of Allen County and Lima.”